Boat lift control device

ABSTRACT

An air-displacement boat lift control that allows a user to raise an air-displacement boat lift in a single motion and also lower an air-displacement boat lift in a separate single motion. The boat lift control controllably couples a ball valve with a throttle-like lever arm having a forward (raise), reverse (lower), and neutral position.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention generally relates to an apparatus and method for controlling air flow in and out of a boat lift air chamber.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The use of air blowers to supply low pressure air to air chambers to raise air displacement boat lifts is well known. An air blower is attached to a manifold which controls air flow to and from the air chamber. To increase air volume in the air chamber the blower is turned on and the manifold is opened. To decrease air volume in the air chamber the blower remains off and the manifold is opened to release air. A number of air blower and manifold designs are known and provide this basic function.

The Hydrohoist Boat Lifts' UltraLift controls are comprised of an air blower attached to a manifold block with a gate valve and a ball valve. The air blower and manifold block are mounted inside of a plastic housing with a control panel on the top. The control panel consists of an on/off switch for the blower, a lever for opening and closing the ball valve and a handle for opening and closing the gate valve. To increase air volume in an air chamber the blower must be switched on then the ball valve must be opened. To decrease air volume in the air chamber the blower must be switched off, the gate valve must be opened, and then the ball valve must be opened. To maintain air pressure and air volume in the air chambers the ball valve must be closed. This device though functional requires multiple operations by the user, flipping of switches, turning and lifting of valves, to raise and lower the lift. To a novice user operation of the UltraLift controls can be complicated.

In addition to the UltraLift, Hydrohoist Boatlifts sells a Side-Tie “B” Model that has controls comprised of an air blower attached to a manifold with at least four ball valves and one gate valve. The air blower and manifold are mounted inside of a plastic housing with a control panel on the top. The control panel consists of an on/off switch for the blower, four levers for opening and closing the ball valves and a handle for opening and closing the gate valve. To increase air volume in the air chamber the blower must be turned on and the four ball valves must be opened with the four separate levers. To decrease air volume in the air chamber the blower must be switched off, the gate valve must be opened, and then the ball valves must be opened. To maintain air pressure and air volume in the air chambers the ball valves must be closed. Similar to the UltraLift controls, the device requires multiple operations to raise, lower and store a lift.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an air blower and manifold combination that simplifies the operation by the user to a single operation to increase air volume in an air chamber and another single operation to decrease air volume in the air chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiment of the present invention is control device that allows a user to raise an air-displacement boat lift in a single motion and also lower the air-displacement boat lift in a separate single motion. The boat lift control device does this by coupling a ball valve with a throttle like lever arm (similar to a combination boat throttle/gear controller) having a forward (raise) position, a reverse (lower) position, and a neutral (or locked) position. In the forward (raise) position the throttle like lever arm opens the ball valve and activates a switch that turns on an air blower forcing air into the air chamber of the air-displacement lift. In the reverse (lower) position the throttle like lever arm opens the ball valve without activating the air blower allowing air to escape from the air chamber of the air-displacement lift. In the neutral position the throttle like lever arm closes the ball valve preventing air from escaping in the air chamber of the air-displacement lift.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are schematic, and not to scale, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an air displacement boat lift control device.

FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the boat lift control device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the ball valve and lever assembly of the boat lift control device of FIG. 1 in the reverse (lower) position.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the ball valve and lever assembly of the boat lift control device of FIG. 1 in the neutral (locked) position.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the ball valve and lever assembly of the boat lift control device of FIG. 1 in the forward (raise) position.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, cross-sectional end view of the ball valve and lever assembly of the boat lift control device of FIG. 1 in the forward (raise) position.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, cross-sectional end view of the ball valve and lever assembly in the reverse (lower) position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description illustrates aspects of the invention, and identifies preferred embodiments of these aspects. The description is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to inform and teach the person of skill in the art who will come to appreciate more fully other aspects, equivalents, and possibilities presented by invention, and hence the scope of the invention is set forth in the claims, which alone limit its scope.

Several details of the preferred embodiment are set forth in the following description: FIGS. 1 through 7 provide a thorough understanding of such embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may be practiced without several of the details described herein. In the following description of the embodiments, it is understood that a watercraft includes any vehicle that is at least partially waterborne, which includes boats and similar vessels, but may also include amphibious vehicles including various amphibious automobiles or aircraft. Moreover, in the description that follows, it is understood that the figures related to the disclosed embodiments are not to be interpreted as conveying any specific or relative physical dimension, and that specific or relative dimensions related to the embodiments, if stated, are not be considered limiting unless the claims state otherwise.

An isometric view of the preferred embodiment of an air-displacement boat lift control or blower control system 10 is shown in FIG. 1 for use to control air in two separate air chambers (not shown) of an air-displacement boat lift (not shown). Preferably, the blower control system 10 is used to simultaneously and with a single hand control both air chambers of the air-displacement boat lift with only a simple and single movement of the blower control system from one position to another. Control is accomplished using a ball valve and lever assembly 30 a to control the air in a first air chamber of the air-displacement boat lift, and a ball valve and lever assembly 30 b to control the air in the second air chamber of the air-displacement boat lift.

FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the blower control system 10. The blower control system 10 consists of a housing 23 that holds blowers 21 a and 21 b. Blower 21 a is connected to the ball valve and lever assembly 30 a by a hose 22 a, and blower 21 b is connected to the ball valve and lever assembly 30 b by a hose 22 b. A ball valve and lever assembly representative of both ball valve and lever assemblies 30 a and 30 b is shown in FIG. 3.

The ball valve and lever assembly 30 a includes a ball valve having a ball valve housing 31 a and a valve ball 32 rotatably positioned within the ball valve housing 31 a, and a control lever 33 a pivotally mounted to the ball valve housing and attached to the valve ball for rotation thereof within the ball valve housing. The control lever 33 a is positioned at one side of the housing 23. The hose 22 a is connected to an air inlet/outlet 34 a of the ball valve housing 31 a. An air chamber hose 24 a is connected to an air inlet/outlet 35 a of the ball valve housing 31 a. Blower 21 a turns on when lever 33 a engages and turns on a blower switch 63 a.

Blower 21 b is assembled similarly to blower 21 a. The ball valve and lever assembly 30 b includes a ball valve having a ball valve housing 31 b and a valve ball 32 rotatably positioned within the ball valve housing 31 b, and a control lever 33 b pivotally mounted to the ball valve housing and attached to the valve ball for rotation thereof within the ball valve housing. The control lever 33 b is positioned a side of the housing 23 opposite the side at which the control lever 33 a is positioned. The hose 22 b is connected to an air inlet/outlet 34 b of the ball valve housing 31 b. An air chamber hose 24 b is connected to an air inlet/outlet 35 b of the ball valve housing 31 b. Blower 21 b turns on when lever 33 b engages and turns on a blower switch 63 b. Blowers 21 a and 21 b can be operated in unison by moving levers 33 a and 33 b together with one hand. Blowers 21 a and 21 b can also be operated separately by using levers 33 a and 33 b separately.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a ball valve and lever assembly 30, which is representative of both ball valve and lever assemblies 30 a and 30 b and its components are similarly numbered. Ball valve and lever assembly 30 a is a mirror image of ball valve and lever assembly 30 b. The blower control system 10 uses ball valve and lever assembly 30 a to control the air in the first air chamber (not shown) of the air-displacement boat lift the blower control system 10 is being used to control, and ball valve and lever assembly 30 b to control the air in the separate second air chamber (not shown) of the air-displacement boat lift. As noted above, levers 33 a and 33 b of the ball valve and lever assemblies 30 a and 30 b can be conveniently operated in unison by moving levers 33 a and 33 b together with one hand, much as done with a combination boat throttle/gear controller boat for operation of two power drive systems, to simultaneously and similarly control air in both the first and second air chambers of the air-displacement boat lift the blower control system 10. Alternatively, each of the first and second air chambers of the air-displacement boat lift can be controlled individually by separately operating levers 33 a and 33 b.

As described for ball valve and lever assemblies 30 a and 30 b, the illustrated representative ball valve and lever assembly 30 of FIG. 3 includes a ball valve housing 31, a valve ball 32 and a control lever 33, with lever 33 and valve ball 32 shown in FIG. 3 in the air volume decrease or release position “A” (reverse/lower position). Air release position “A” allows air to flow along path “X” from an air chamber (not shown) of the air-displacement boat lift the blower control system 10 is being used to control through air chamber hose 24 (shown in FIG. 2) into an air inlet/outlet 35 of ball valve housing 31, then into a diametrical ball air flow passageway 37 of valve ball 32. The air then flows through the air flow passageway 37 and both out through air inlet/outlet 34 of ball valve housing 31 and out through a transverse air flow passageway 38 of valve ball 32 connected with the air flow passageway 37 and which communicates with an air outlet 36 of ball valve housing 31 which vents to the atmosphere, thereby allowing air volume and pressure to decrease in the air chamber (not shown). The transverse air flow passageway 38 communicates with the air flow passageway 37 and extending transversely therefrom to the air outlet which communicates with the air outlet 36 of the ball valve housing 31 when the valve ball is in the position shown in FIG. 3. Air outlet 36 of ball valve housing 31 and transverse air flow passageway 38 of valve ball 32 can be located on the top or the bottom of ball valve housing 31 and valve ball 32. The preferred embodiment has air outlet 36 on the bottom of ball valve housing 31 and transverse air flow passageway 38 on the bottom of ball valve 32 to allow water that may travel up air chamber hose 22 to be drained out prior to reaching blower 21.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the ball valve and lever assembly 30 with lever 33 and valve ball 32 shown in the neutral and locked position “B”. A lock mechanism 25 (shown in FIG. 2) can engage lever 33 to lock the lever and the valve ball 32 in neutral and locked position “B” shown in FIG. 4. In this position, air flows along path “Y” from the air chamber (not shown) of the air-displacement boat lift the blower control system 10 is being used to control through air chamber hose 24 (shown in FIG. 2) into air inlet/out 35 of ball valve housing 31 and is blocked by valve ball 32 which is in the valve closed orientation with the ball flow passageway 37 extending transverse the ball valve housing, thereby maintaining air volume and air pressure in the air chamber (not shown).

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the ball valve and lever assembly 30 shown with lever 33 and valve ball 32 in the air volume increase position “C” (forward/raise position) whereat the lever engages and turns on the blower switch 63 shown in FIG. 6). With air blower 21 (shown if FIG. 2) switched on, air flows along path “Z” from air blower 21 through hose 22 (shown in FIG. 2) into air inlet/outlet 34 of ball valve housing 31, then into the ball flow passageway 37 of valve ball 32. The air then flows through the ball flow passageway 37 and out through air inlet/outlet 35 of ball valve housing 31, and into air chamber hose 24 (shown in FIG. 2), thereby increasing the air volume in the air chamber (not shown) of the air-displacement boat lift the blower control system 10 is being used to control.

The lever 33 has a spring detent to locate and maintain the lever is an operated selected position for the lever, yet allow easy movement of the lever between the positions “A,” “B,” and “C” described above for control of the air in the particular one of the air chambers of the air-displacement boat lift the lever of the blower control system 10 is being used to control. While the blower control system 10 is described as using two levers 33 a and 33 b to simultaneously separately control air in two air chambers, the blower control system can be constructed with a single lever 33 to control a single air chamber or to simultaneously but not separately control multiple air chambers of an air-displacement boat lift.

FIG. 6 is an end view of ball valve and lever assembly 30 shown in the air volume increase position “C” described above with respect to FIG. 5. A switch engagement member 61 of lever 33 engages blower switch 63 and thereby turns on blower 21 (shown in FIG. 2) on causing air to flow along path “Z” shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an end view of ball valve and lever assembly 30 shown in the air volume decrease position “A” or the neutral/locked position “B,” described above with respect to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, respectively. It is noted that in these positions the switch non-engagement member 62 of lever 33 does not engage blower switch 63, and hence the blower 21 remains off. 

1. An air-displacement boat lift control for use with an air-displacement boat lift having an air chamber, comprising: at least one powered air source configured to selectively produce an air flow to increase the air volume in the air chamber; and at least one bi-directional lever actuated control with a lever selectively movable between raise, lower and neutral positions, and the control being operative connected to the at least one air source and connectable to the air chamber, in the raise position the lever operating the control to direct air flow from the at least one air source to the air chamber, in the lower position the lever operating the control to direct air to be released from the air chamber, and in the neutral position the lever operating the control to prevent air from being released from the air chamber.
 2. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 1 wherein the at least one lever actuated control includes at least one valve, the lever controlling operation of the at least one valve to control airflow to and from the air chamber and from the at least one air source, in the raise position the lever placing the valve in a first open state whereat the valve allows air flow from the at least one air source, through the valve, and into the air chamber, in the lower position the lever placing the valve in a second open state whereat the valve allows air flow from the air chamber, through the valve, and into the atmosphere, and in the neutral position the lever placing the valve in a closed state whereat the valve prevents air from being released from the air chamber.
 3. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 2 wherein the at least one valve is a ball valve.
 4. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 3 wherein the ball valve has a valve ball with a first air flow passageway and a second air flow passageway in communication with the first air flow passageway, in the lower position the lever placing the valve ball with an input of the first air flow passageway in communication with the air chamber and an output of the first air flow passageway in communication with the air source when turned off to vent air therethrough, and with an output of the second air flow passageway venting to atmosphere.
 5. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 1 wherein in the raise position the lever turns on the at least one powered air source.
 6. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 1 wherein the lever releasably locks when in the neutral position.
 7. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 1 having two bi-directional levers arranged to be moved simultaneously by an operator, each controlling the air volume in a one of two separate air chambers.
 8. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 1 wherein the position of the lever is indicated by a spring detent locating mechanism.
 9. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 1 wherein the at least one lever actuated control includes a valve to control air flow to and from the air chamber.
 10. An air-displacement boat lift control for use with an air-displacement boat lift having a first air chamber and a second air chamber, comprising: first and second powered air sources configured to selectively produce an air flow to increase the air volume in the air chamber; and first and second bi-directional lever actuated controls, the first control having a first lever selectively movable between raise, lower and neutral positions, and the second control having a second lever selectively movable between raise, lower and neutral positions, the first control being operative connected to the first air source and connectable to the air chamber, in the raise position the first lever operating the first control to direct air flow from the first air source to the air chamber, in the lower position the first lever operating the first control to direct air to be released from the air chamber, and in the neutral position the first lever operating the first control to prevent air from being released from the air chamber, and the second control being operative connected to the second air source and connectable to the air chamber, in the raise position the second lever operating the second control to direct air flow from the second air source to the air chamber, in the lower position the second lever operating the second control to direct air to be released from the air chamber, and in the neutral position the second lever operating the second control to prevent air from being released from the air chamber.
 11. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 10 wherein the first lever actuated control includes a first valve and the second lever actuated control includes a second valve, the first lever controlling operation of the first valve to control airflow to and from the first air chamber and from the first air source, in the raise position the first lever placing the first valve in a first open state whereat the first valve allows air flow from the first air source, through the first valve, and into the first air chamber, in the lower position the first lever placing the first valve in a second open state whereat the first valve allows air flow from the first air chamber, through the first valve, and into the atmosphere, and in the neutral position the first lever placing the first valve in a closed state whereat the first valve prevents air from being released from the first air chamber, and the second lever controlling operation of the second valve to control airflow to and from the second air chamber and from the second air source, in the raise position the second lever placing the second valve in a first open state whereat the second valve allows air flow from the second air source, through the second valve, and into the second air chamber, in the lower position the second lever placing the second valve in a second open state whereat the second valve allows air flow from the second air chamber, through the second valve, and into the atmosphere, and in the neutral position the second lever placing the second valve in a closed state whereat the second valve prevents air from being released from the second air chamber.
 12. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 11 wherein the first valve is a first ball valve and the second valve is a second ball valve, the first ball valve having a first valve ball with a first air flow passageway and a second air flow passageway in communication with the first air flow passageway, in the lower position the first lever placing the first valve ball with an input of the first air flow passageway in communication with the first air chamber and an output of the first air flow passageway in communication with the first air source when turned off to vent air therethrough, and with an output of the second air flow passageway venting to atmosphere, and the second ball valve having a second valve ball with a first air flow passageway and a second air flow passageway in communication with the first air flow passageway, in the lower position the second lever placing the second valve ball with an input of the first air flow passageway in communication with the second air chamber and an output of the first air flow passageway in communication with the second air source when turned off to vent air therethrough, and with an output of the second air flow passageway venting to atmosphere.
 13. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 10 wherein the first and second levers are arranged adjacent to each other for simultaneous movement between the raise, lower and neutral positions by an operator using a single hand.
 14. An air-displacement boat lift control for use with an air-displacement boat lift having an air chamber, comprising: at least one powered air source configured to selectively produce an air flow to increase the air volume in the air chamber; and at least one bi-directional lever actuated control with a lever selectively movable between raise and lower positions, and the control being operative connected to the at least one air source and connectable to the air chamber, in the raise position the lever operating the control to direct air flow from the at least one air source to the air chamber, and in the lower position the lever operating the control to direct air to be released from the air chamber.
 15. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 14 wherein the at least one lever actuated control includes at least one valve, the lever controlling operation of the at least one valve to control airflow to and from the air chamber and from the at least one air source, in the raise position the lever placing the valve in a first open state whereat the valve allows air flow from the at least one air source, through the valve, and into the air chamber, and in the lower position the lever placing the valve in a second open state whereat the valve allows air flow from the air chamber, through the valve, and into the atmosphere.
 16. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 14 wherein in the raise position the lever turns on the at least one powered air source.
 17. An air-displacement boat lift control for use with an air-displacement boat lift having a first air chamber and a second air chamber, comprising: first and second powered air sources configured to selectively produce an air flow to increase the air volume in the air chamber; and first and second bi-directional lever actuated controls, the first control having a first lever selectively movable between raise and lower positions, and the second control having a second lever selectively movable between raise and lower positions, the first control being operative connected to the first air source and connectable to the air chamber, in the raise position the first lever operating the first control to direct air flow from the first air source to the air chamber, and in the lower position the first lever operating the first control to direct air to be released from the air chamber, and the second control being operative connected to the second air source and connectable to the air chamber, in the raise position the second lever operating the second control to direct air flow from the second air source to the air chamber, and in the lower position the second lever operating the second control to direct air to be released from the air chamber.
 18. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 17 wherein the first lever actuated control includes a first valve and the second lever actuated control includes a second valve, the first lever controlling operation of the first valve to control airflow to and from the first air chamber and from the first air source, in the raise position the first lever placing the first valve in a first open state whereat the first valve allows air flow from the first air source, through the first valve, and into the first air chamber, and in the lower position the first lever placing the first valve in a second open state whereat the first valve allows air flow from the first air chamber, through the first valve, and into the atmosphere, and the second lever controlling operation of the second valve to control airflow to and from the second air chamber and from the second air source, in the raise position the second lever placing the second valve in a first open state whereat the second valve allows air flow from the second air source, through the second valve, and into the second air chamber, and in the lower position the second lever placing the second valve in a second open state whereat the second valve allows air flow from the second air chamber, through the second valve, and into the atmosphere.
 19. The air-displacement boat lift control of claim 17 wherein the first and second levers are arranged adjacent to each other for simultaneous movement between the raise and lower positions by an operator using a single hand. 